THE
THE
RESILIENCE
FACTOR:
A Key to Leadership in
African American and Hispanic Girls
Girl Scout Research Institute
III
A Discussion Paper from the Girl Scout
Research Institute
National President
Connie L. Lindsey
Chief Executive Officer
Kathy Cloninger
Chief of External Affairs
Timothy Higdon
Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Advocacy, and the Research Institute
Laurie A. Westley
Vice President, Research, Girl Scout Research Institute
Michael Conn, Ph.D.
Authors, Girl Scout Research Institute
Paula Fleshman, Research and Evaluation Analyst
Judy Schoenberg, Director, Research and Outreach
Acknowledgment is made to the following departments and individuals at GSUSA for their contributions:
Andrea Bastiani Archibald, Ph.D., Senior Researcher/Developmental Psychologist, Program Development
Milagros Benítez, Senior Researcher-Council Liaison, GSRI
Stephanie Cabrera, Manager, Leadership Strategies, Global Girl Scouting
Debra Dodson, Ph.D., Director, Program Evaluation and Outcomes Measurement, GSRI
Toi James, Ph.D., Senior Researcher/Project Manager, GSRI
Claudia Rincón, Project Research Analyst, GSRI
Inquiries related to The Resilience Factor: A Key to Leadership in African American and Hispanic Girls,
Discussion Paper should be directed to the Girl Scout Research Institute, Girl Scouts of the USA,
420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018-2798, 212-852-6551/gsresearch@girlscouts.org
This report may not be reproduced, disseminated, or distributed in whole or in part in any form or by any means,
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now known or hereafter invented, without the prior written permission of Girl Scouts of the United States
of America, 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018-2798.
© 2011 by Girl Scouts of the USA
All rights reserved.
First Impression 2011
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Resilience Factor
Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................................................2
Definition and Factors of Resilience..........................................................................................................................................................3
Becoming Resilient African American and Hispanic Girls..................................................................................................................4
Resilience, Advocacy, and Leadership....................................................................................................................................................10
Resilience and the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.......................................................................................................................11
Implications...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Where Do We Go from Here?.....................................................................................................................................................................14
References........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Resources.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Girl Scout Research Institute
1
Introduction
The idea for this working paper was generated from
questions raised from Change It Up! What Girls Say
About Redefining Leadership (2008), a nationwide
study conducted by the Girl Scout Research
Institute (GSRI) which explored how youth ages 8 to 17
define, experience, and aspire to leadership. One of
the key findings of this study revealed that girls are
not a monolithic group and that there are differences
among girls of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
What are some of these differences and how can they
be understood within diverse cultural contexts? This
paper explores these and other key questions using
the concept of resilience as a framework based on
recent literature focused on African American and
Hispanic girls.
Leadership Aspirations Are High Among
African American and Hispanic Girls
Specifically, in Change It Up! African American and
Hispanic girls were more likely than Caucasian and
Asian American girls to view themselves as leaders.
Also, African American and Hispanic girls aspired to
leadership more than Caucasian girls and had more
frequent and more positive leadership experiences.
In addition, they rated themselves higher than Caucasian girls on key leadership indicators such as overall
self-confidence and qualities such as creativity,
caring, and problem solving. A higher proportion of
African American girls also was represented in the
“Vanguard” leadership identity category—a profile of
youth who have the highest self-confidence, already
think of themselves as leaders, and actively desire to
be leaders.
These findings were further confirmed by a follow-up
survey to Change It Up! that was conducted after the
2008 presidential election, The New Leadership
Landscape: What Girls Say About Election 2008
(2009). In this survey, the GSRI asked youth ages 13 to
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The Resilience Factor
17 across the United States about their perceptions
and opinions of the prospective candidates in the
2008 presidential election and their own experiences
in leadership activities. African American and
Hispanic girls responded “often” or “very often” the
same percentage or higher (sometimes significantly
so) to having engaged in positive leadership-promoting experiences as compared to Caucasian and Asian
girls. The types of experiences that African American
and Hispanic girls participated in were the kinds of
opportunities that girls said they value in leadership—
notably collaborative decision making, an inclusive
approach, and learning by sharing different perspectives. In particular, their responses pointed to
girls’ individual and collective work, communication,
problem-solving, and reflection processes which will
be discussed in more detail later in this paper.
In addition, the girls in the study who shied away
from leadership were, by and large, Caucasian girls
who dealt with relational issues such as being afraid
to speak up in public and voicing an opinion that
others would not like. African American and Hispanic
girls did not seem to have the same fears. This paper
delves into some of the factors that may influence
this sense of confidence.
Self-Confidence, Leadership, and Resilience
As research often does, these findings created as
many questions as answers. In both of these
studies the factor that was most strongly linked to
leadership was self-confidence. African American
and Hispanic girls had higher levels of self-confidence
and leadership aspirations than other girls in the studies. What is the root of this self-confidence? Are there
cultural factors at play? This paper delves into the
research on youth and resilience to further flesh out
these issues.
The leadership field has emerged from thinking that
individuals are born with leadership traits to a
model in which leadership is shaped by experience
and social interactions. One concept that stands
out in the work of intergenerational leadership
researchers Bennis and Thomas (2002) is the idea
of the “crucible of experience”—that going through a
transformational experience that strengthens them
can set people on a new path to leadership. The idea
that some leaders go through an ordeal or test, surviving and acquiring new skills, character, and resolve,
parallels the concept of resilience building in the youth
development field.
There is no shortage of research in the field and
media headlines about the struggles African
American and Hispanic girls face as they deal with
racial and gender oppression as well as economic,
health, and education disparities. However, what’s
revealed when strengths as well as struggles are
scrutinized? Can strength be born from struggle?
What experiences positively develop and transform
African American and Hispanic girls as they face
significant societal threats such as racism, xenophobia, economic disenfranchisement, educational and
judicial inequity, and poor health care? Are some
African American and Hispanic girls more resilient
than other girls, giving them the confidence to be leaders? Or are some AfricanAmerican and Hispanic girls
more confident than other girls, enabling them
to be resilient and adapt to challenging situations?
Based on the research cited here, it appears that
there is a continuous interchange and complex
relationship between self-confidence, resilience,
and leadership. Understanding that not all African
American and Hispanic girls are resilient, this paper
explores the family, school, community, and cultural
protective factors that help develop girls who are
considered resilient in the face of stressors. This
paper explores the connection between the
resilience and leadership of these girls, with the full
understanding that the factors that develop their
ability to survive and sometimes thrive through
pressing societal risks and problems may not be the
same skills necessary to help them overcome the root
causes of these very same risks and problems, i.e.,
racism, economic disenfranchisement, educational
and judicial inequity, and poor health care. Thus, this
paper does not attempt to present solutions to the
myriad problems of society nor does it claim that
African American and Hispanic girls who are resilient
may not also be deeply and negatively affected by
these problems.
This paper also offers implications for youthserving organizations in engaging African American
and Hispanic girls and young women in leadership
development, keeping in mind proven resilience
factors such as connection to family, school,
community, and culture.
Definition and
Factors of Resilience
The study of resilience in youth has evolved from a
focus on what is remarkable in only an exceptional
few to what is ordinary in many (Masten 2001). It has
been defined in numerous ways: a process; enduring
characteristic; capacity to adapt or thrive in the face
of significant adversity; successful adaptation or
negotiation with one’s surroundings despite threat;
good outcomes despite high risk (Masten, Best, and
Garmezy 1990; Condly 2006; Miller and Daniel 2007).
According to the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Resilience and Strength in Black
Children and Adolescents (TFRSBCA) (2008),
resilience emerges as a process that is not defined
by a list of protective factors (that which prevents or
reduces vulnerability and promotes optimal development such as the availability of social support and
healthy coping strategies) but is the interaction of
one’s strengths, resources, and risk factors within
context across space and time. Similarly, researchers
of risk, resilience, and positive development among
Hispanic youth also define resilience in interactional
terms (Kuperminc et al. 2009).
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For too many African American and Hispanic youth
risk factors include exposure to poverty, discrimination, negative gender and ethnic stereotyping, low
expectations, acculturative stress, traumatic migration experiences, educational and judicial/penal
inequity, and inadequate health care. Recognizing and
understanding risk factors is critical: It is a mistake to
apply the constructs of risk and resilience to populations that are neither oppressed nor disadvantaged
(Ungar 2004). Youth who are neither oppressed nor
disadvantaged are less likely to experience the persistent and enduring risk factors that are known to compromise youth development. Resilience, as defined in
this paper, is a characteristic that endures over time,
space, and context in a framework where the risks and
adversities are significant, persistent, and potentially
compromising to youth’s development.
Resilience Factors Overview
Three main factors play a role in developing the
resilience of youth:
•
•
•
the young person herself or himself
the family, which provides a significant
degree of functioning, positive support, bonding,
and stable discipline the community/environment, which provides a certain level of social support
However, for African American and Hispanic youth,
a fourth key factor of culture and ethnic identity is
highly significant in the development of resilience.
These concepts will be explored in the following
sections based on some of the most recent
literature from the field. Findings from Change It Up!
What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership will
serve as a springboard for the discussion.
Becoming Resilient
African American
and Hispanic Girls
For resilient African American and Hispanic girls and
young women, many factors and experiences
contribute to their strength: positive self-concepts;
positive relationships with parents and family;
supportive environments often considered homeplaces; cultures; religion; racial socialization, ethnic
identities, and support networks.
Positive Self-Concept
Consistent with data from Change It Up! What Girls
Say About Redefining Leadership (2008) which finds
that African American girls have higher rates of selfconfidence, the American Psychological Association’s
TFRSBCA (2008) found that the self-esteem of African American children is higher than that of Caucasian
children, and that the differences increase for African
American girls as they grow older. Key factors that influence positive self concept are flexible gender roles,
positive body image, and academic achievement.
Flexible gender roles predict positive social and psychological outcomes for African American adolescent
girls (Belgrave et al. 2004; Buckley and Carter 2005).
This is understood as possessing a mix of both masculine characteristics (typically seen as assertiveness,
self-confidence, independence, responsibility, and
individuality) and feminine characteristics (such as
nurturance, emotional expressiveness, dependence,
empathy, and community). Many African American
girls and young women are socialized to possess such
gender role flexibility, thereby developing self-confidence and resilience to face daily risk factors as they
mature (Jones-DeWeever 2009).
Body image is also a core component of positive selfconcept for African American girls and young
4
The Resilience Factor
women. This is because many African American girls
reject the mainstream media’s standard of beauty—a
characteristic that distinguishes them from Caucasian
females—and accept in a positive way their own personal appearance and that of other African American
females (Rozie-Battle 2002; GSRI 2004; TFRSBCA
2008; Jones-DeWeever 2009). At the same time that
many African American girls and young women resist
the marketing of contrary standards of beauty, some
girls and young women can experience more intense
pressure due to competition with each other based on
hair texture, skin complexion, and intellectual capacity
(Rozie-Battle 2002; Jones-DeWeever 2009).
While body image is a major factor in the positive
self-concept of African American girls, other factors—
cognitive ability and belongingness—impact that
of Hispanic youth and differentiate the resilient from
the non-resilient (Gordon 1996). Resilient Hispanic
youth believe more in their cognitive abilities than
those who are non-resilient. For example, they believe
they could understand the information presented in
class at school and do well on tests. Further, they are
less likely to avoid social isolation and more resistant to negative peer pressure. They also place less
emphasis on social belongingness within the context
of school and more on their cognitive abilities in order
to bolster motivation to reach their personal goals
(Gordon 1996).
Positive Relationships with Parents and Family
Change It Up! What Girls Say About Redefining
Leadership (2008) reported that the influence of
parents and family, particularly mothers, greatly impacts African American girls’ leadership experiences
and opportunities. More than eight in ten African
American girls (82%) say their mothers encourage
them to be leaders, followed by fathers and teachers
(59%), friends (51%), and older relatives (50%). What
is it about the relationship between mothers and
daughters that promotes leadership development?
For African American girls who face poverty in their
daily lives, an important factor in their resilience is
how they see themselves in the future and how they
perceive their mothers’ care and involvement in their
lives (Aronowitz and Morrison-Beedy 2004). This is
important because being able to envision a positive
future can impact the choices African American girls
will make in the present. African American girls who
perceive that their mothers care about them and who
also have positive outlooks of themselves in the future
were considered resilient in the face of stress.
Further, the relationships that African American girls
have with their parents play a significant role in the
development of their self-confidence and resilience.
In addition, contrary to what the media touts, family
structure matters less than the quality of relationships. A positive relationship with her parents and
positive family functioning (strong emotional bonds
among family members, monitoring of children’s
environments, etc.) are more critical to an African
American girl’s development of self-esteem than
whether her home is a single-parent or two-parent
home (Rozie-Battle 2002).
The positive relationships and influence of parents
and family, particularly mothers, are also evident in
Hispanic girls’ leadership experiences and
opportunities. As demonstrated in Change It Up!
What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership (2008),
three-quarters (75%) of Hispanic girls say their mothers encourage them to be leaders, followed by teachers (54%), fathers (50%), friends (48%), and siblings
and older relatives (31%) (Schoenberg, Salmond, and
Fleshman 2008).
Communication is at the center of positive relationships between Hispanic mothers and daughters.
Mothers are important sources of strength and
knowledge at home, in general, and for sensitive topics. In fact, many Hispanic girls feel very comfortable
discussing sex and sexual issues like pregnancy and
HIV/AIDS with their mothers, and even with extended
family members (Guzmán, Arruda, and Feria 2006).
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This act of girls—seeking out what they needed for
their healthy development—may be seen as an indication of their resilience. It should be noted, though, that
not all girls feel this way and many Hispanic girls often
feel that their parents do not know what to say, how to
say it, or when to start those conversations (Sabatiuk
and Flores 2009).
Hispanic adolescent girls learn valuable lessons on
gender and sexuality from their mothers through
conversations, consejos (advice), and cuentos
(stories). Hispanic daughters and mothers both
critiqued the gender restrictions and responsibilities
they experienced while growing up—mothers more
subtly and indirectly than daughters—and described
their efforts to balance the reality of gender oppression and double standards with the possibility of
transcending them (Ayala 2006). For example, both
mothers and daughters assessed gender restrictions
at home and elsewhere and spoke about new visions
of how things could be. These restrictions include
not being allowed out of the house although brothers
are free to explore and being expected to date only
one person whom they would ultimately marry. Other
restrictions include responsibilities to the family that
their male counterparts didn’t share, such as cooking,
cleaning, and caregiving (Ayala 2006).
Creation of a “Home-Place”
In addition to parental involvement at home, many
low-income, inner-city girls like the idea of a club as a
“home-place,” a spot where they feel listened to and
where their opinions are valued (Hirsch et al. 2000).
This is an important finding for both informal and
formal education as girls derive a sense of safe space
from supportive and trusting environments. Even
though literature has suggested that primarily middleclass Caucasian girls have suffered “loss of voice,”
all girls need to be supported and it is important that
urban girls of color be supported in establishing and
maintaining a way to be heard (Hirsch et al. 2000).
6
The Resilience Factor
The maintenance of social networks plays a very
prominent role for all girls, even more than for boys
(Hirsch et al. 2000). The creation of a home-place
for youth enables the development of self via
organizational responsiveness to girls’ voices, strong
bonds between girls and staff (as well as other adults
working with girls such as volunteers), and the development of programs that fuse the interests of girls and
adults (Hirsh et al. 2000). Just as extended
families provide support for African Americans,
particularly those from impoverished backgrounds,
home-places have the potential of providing
important sources of support and linkage for girls
(Hirsch et al. 2000). Another important supportive
environment in the lives of many African American
girls is the church which is described in the
next section.
Similar to the concept of home-place embraced by
African American girls, safe spaces within schools also
can shape the resilience of those Hispanic girls who
are confronting poverty, discrimination, stereotypes,
and urban violence (Lechuga 2006). The experiences of Hispanic middle school girls and mothers
who participated in school-based, parent-run salas
comunitarias (community living rooms) demonstrate
that these community living rooms provided culturally empowering safe spaces for Hispanic girls, who
described them as their second homes (Lopez and
Lechuga 2006).
The psychological well-being of many Hispanic girls
is related not only to their inner resources, but also to
the quality of their interpersonal relationships (Thakral
and Vera 2006). As personalismo (importance of
interpersonal interactions and relationships) is a key
cultural value, girls’ interpersonal interactions and relationships with “other mothers” and other adults are
crucial. Community living rooms also provided space
for connecting with Hispanic “other mothers” with
whom they enjoyed mutual trust and respect similar
to the role that “other-mothers” have played in the African American community in nurturing the resilience
of girls and their families (Lopez and Lechuga 2006).
Religion
Findings from Change It Up! What Girls Say About
Redefining Leadership (2008) revealed that the
church is the third major place, outside of school and
home, where African American girls and young women
find opportunities for engagement and advocacy and
where, for a majority of girls, leadership experiences
have been positive.
Religion is central to the resilience of many African
American youth and it may be a factor that influences
leadership aspirations. Girls and young women who
believe in God, attend church or religious activities,
sense a higher purpose to their lives, and express
empathy for others may become engaged leaders
and advocates for their community (TFRSBCA 2008).
The African American church has been a positive
factor in the lives of many African American youth.
African American girls who highly value religion and
their relationship with God tend to do better in school,
have excellent relationships at home with their caregivers, and feel happy and good about themselves
(Jones-DeWeever 2009). These same girls also tend
to have aspirations of higher education, with most
believing they have an excellent chance of achieving
their ultimate goal (Jones-DeWeever 2009).
For many African American girls, church or religious
involvement also serves as a protective factor against
crime (Rozie-Battle 2002). African Americans
positively associate public and private religion with
self-esteem and involvement in the church, which
offsets the negative effects of peer pressure and
other stressors (Harrison-Hale, McLoyd, and
Smedley 2004).
African American churches readily provide social and
spiritual support, help shape social attitudes and
belief systems, and build character, self-esteem,
self-confidence, and unity (Harrison-Hale, McLoyd,
and Smedley 2004; Swanson et al. 2002). Historically
a safe haven, the African American church continues
to provide leadership in the struggle against racism
and oppression (Barrow et al. 2007). The next section
looks at how racial socialization and positive ethnic
identity also promote resilience among African
American girls.
Cultural Values
Although religion may be very important for
Hispanic girls and youth, in the research it does not
appear to play a critical role in the development of
their resilience, as it does for African American girls
and youth. However, cultural values play a prominent
function in developing resilience for Hispanic girls.
Promoting cultural values within Hispanic communities protects against societal threats such as poor or
inaccessible community resources and gang violence
(Clauss-Ehlers and Levi 2002). For example, the
cultural values of familismo (immediate and extended
families as a unit), respeto (respect of elders), and personalismo (importance of interpersonal interactions
and relationships) help Hispanic girls to be resilient.
The importance of loyalty and protection of the
family to promoting resilience and leadership is also
seen in the ways youth help to maintain family wellbeing by taking on responsibilities such as language
brokering for their parents, chores, and sibling
caregiving. These protective familial processes are
associated with better social skills, competence, and
higher levels of maturity, especially when youth feel
their efforts are valued and acknowledged
(Kuperminc et al. 2009). Prosocial behaviors of caregiving, nurturance, and sharing among siblings and
family members foster responsibility for others and
build close family relationships (Carlo and de
Guzman 2009). In addition to building leadership skills
because they require high levels of responsibility
for others, these prosocial qualities may also help
develop a strong sense of self.
Cultural values and family practices, however,
sometimes conflict with younger Hispanics’ desire
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for self-empowerment and independence. Even the
desire for leadership in and of itself may conflict with
some cultural and family values and Hispanic girls
need help negotiating this dilemma. Mexican young
women in Castillo-Gallegos’ (2006) research on
constructing identities offered consejos (advice)
to other young women their age, 14 to 18 years, on
how to become self-empowered and independent.
Their consejos highlighted three major points: have
a network of support to help achieve personal goals;
be self-directed and independent, placing themselves at the center of their lives and decision-making
processes; and develop strength, determination, and
faith. This advice may be of use to girls who are trying
to negotiate the world of their families and their own
identities as leaders in the larger world.
Racial Socialization, Ethnic Identity,
And Support Networks
Racial socialization and ethnic identity help African
American girls cope with racism, oppression, poverty,
and other risk factors such as pregnancy and drug use
(Barrow et al. 2007). For African Americans racial
identity begins with the recognition that racism is
a reality that must be addressed so that family and
community systems can be strengthened to support
adolescents (Barrow et al. 2007, 408). Racial socialization, realized in part by promoting cultural pride
and history in African Americans, has been associated
with improved academic achievement, racial identity development, and cognitive and socioemotional
outcomes—all related to resilience. (Brown 2008;
TFRSBCA 2008). However racial membership alone is
not sufficient to account for the self-esteem in African
American girls: Racial socialization is key. It is their
internal definitions of racial identity and their ways of
identifying with being African American that account
for their self-esteem (Buckley and Carter 2005).
African American girls who describe themselves as
“afrocentric”—being strongly in touch with their racial
heritage—are more likely to say they are happy than
African American girls who do not describe them8
The Resilience Factor
selves as “afrocentric” or are not sure (JonesDeWeever 2009). These girls are also more likely to
express a more serious commitment to their present
and future academic goals (Jones-DeWeever 2009).
This type of development also leads to healthier
relationships. African American girls who participate in
programming that focuses on ethnic identity, cultural
beliefs and values, and sex role socialization demonstrate decreased relational aggression (Belgrave et al.
2004). This is important since girls and youth often
look to their peers for acceptance, approval,
or support. Perpetrators of relational aggression seek
to damage the social acceptance and relationships
of their victims by threats, retaliation, manipulation,
or even coercion. Girls who put these negative,
destructive behaviors to rest because of what they
have learned about themselves—their ethnic identity
and culture—demonstrate the impact that cultural
protective factors can have. This holds great opportunity for families, schools, and community organizations to positively impact the healthy personal and
social development of African American girls.
In addition to racial socialization and ethnic identity,
social support networks have played an inherent role
in the lives of African Americans (Brown 2008). For
African American girls social support networks are
comprised of adults to whom girls can turn and who
are not related to them—such as someone who cared
for them as children or a church family (Brown 2008).
Within these networks that exist outside of the family
some African American girls find help in coping with
issues. Racial socialization and social support networks help them to gain understanding of genderlinked racial stereotypes and the prevalence of these
stereotypes, a crucial part of their development
(Swanson et al. 2002).
The impact of acculturation, and even enculturation,
on the risk factors and protective factors of Hispanic
youth in the United States cannot be underestimated.
Acculturation is “the process by which individuals
acquire knowledge, behavioral expectations,
attitudes, and values associated with the host or
mainstream culture”; Enculturation is “the process of
acquiring knowledge, behavioral expectations,
attitudes, and values associated with their ethnic
culture” (Gonzales et al. 2004, 287-288).
esteem, ability to socialize in diverse settings, peer
competence, and psychological well-being
(Gonzales et al. 2004). The skills inherent in living
biculturally would seem useful in leadership roles that
call for collaborating across groups of people with
diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Both acculturation and enculturation are important
processes that together help minority youth determine the nature of the risks and protective resources
to which they are exposed (Gonzales et al. 2004).
Hispanic girls, as other minority youth, face the
consequences of trying to navigate the incompatibilities of their cultures and the mainstream culture.
For example, some Hispanic cultures hold collectivism and familism important, but the mainstream
American culture places emphasis on individualism.
These conflicts may also come into play when some
Hispanic girls are considering leadership, whether they
aspire to be leaders in their own cultural community
and follow those role models or adopt leadership roles
in the larger mainstream society.
Nonetheless, these same cultural values of family
pride and loyalty, along with a strong ethnic identity
acquired through enculturation, may serve as protective factors for Hispanic girls against some of the
strains of acculturation (Gonzales et al. 2004; ClaussEhlers 2008; Clauss-Ehlers and Levi 2002; Holleran
and Waller 2003; Kuperminc et al. 2009; Carlo and
de Guzman 2009). The acculturative strains include
lack of English language skills, immigration status,
poor employment and economic status, educational
background, and family life demands and values,
which have been associated with anxiety, depression,
alcohol abuse, and eating disorders (Negy, Schwartz,
and Reig-Ferrer 2009).
Biculturalism is suggested to be an even more
prominent protective factor for Hispanic and other
ethnic minority youth. Bicultural youth know and
participate in both the mainstream culture and their
home cultures with fluency. For Hispanic youth,
biculturalism has been related to skills and
characteristics that shape resilience: greater selfGirl Scout Research Institute
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Resilience,
Advocacy,
and Leadership
In follow up survey work to Change It Up! What Girls
Say About Redefining Leadership (2008) African
American and Hispanic girls related that the kinds of
leadership experiences they had involved taking
action and initiative independently as well as working well with others. (See chart below.) For example,
initiating projects, reflecting on one’s efforts, working
with others to accomplish goals, and solving problems speak to the individual factors of resilience and
advocacy. What is it about the leadership activities of
African American and Hispanic girls that enables them
to feel more effective in their leadership than Caucausian and Asian American girls do? The key here may
be that they are better skilled in advocacy on behalf of
themselves and others. The next section explores this
issue further and discusses the role of advocacy in
resilience and leadership development.
In the face of adversity and risk, advocacy by youth
for themselves and other youth promotes resilience
and positive self-concepts (Grover 2005). Youth
advocating for themselves and others is an element
of leadership, in particular, where they learn to take
action on issues important to them within local and
global communities. Many African American youth in
particular have been involved in a model of social
action and community development that has also
often afforded them the psychological ability to resist
and effectively cope with racism (Thomas, Davidson, and McAdoo 2008). Girls and boys advocate
for themselves and their community, effectively
becoming active agents positively transforming their
environments. As a result, they resist the pressures of
drug and gang involvement, and other risky, antisocial
behaviors. A key benefit of engaging in advocacy is
that it helps develop a positive sense of self, competency, and political efficacy (Thomas, Davidson, and
McAdoo 2008). Organizations that operate using a
resilience framework help to facilitate the power of
youth and communities to speak for themselves and
others (Yates and Masten 2004).
Percentage of Girls Who Said “Often” or “Very Often” to Participating in the Following Leadership Activities
Caucasian
African
American
Hispanic
Asian
American
Feel like you belong in a group of your peers
67%
70%
68%
70%
Think about what you have learned
60%
74%
67%
67%
Work together with your peers to accomplish
a mutual goal
61%
73%
65%
63%
Challenge yourself by trying new things
56%
70%
62%
60%
Have your ideas and suggestions taken seriously
by adults in your life
59%
64%
63%
51%
Come up with solutions to problems and work
to implement them
51%
64%
64%
63%
Learn about other people’s views and opinions
in order to find common ground
52%
60%
62%
65%
Initiate and plan a project or activity
48%
58%
52%
53%
(Source: Girl Scout Research Institute, 2009. The New
Leadership Landscape: What Girls Say About Election 2008).
*Percentages in green, bold font indicate a statistically significant difference.
10
The Resilience Factor
Unfortunately, youth’s advocacy efforts are not
always welcomed. Youth’s individual and group
advocacy efforts are sometimes suppressed and
resisted by adults who feel that such youth advocacy
efforts must fit into adult agendas and models (Grover
2005). Although resilient behavior engaged in by
highly vulnerable children may not always be socially
acceptable, children can often be supported in
developing self-advocacy or advocacy for others
that is considered socially acceptable (Grover 2005,
534). This is where organizational models such as Girl
Scouts of the USA’s Girl Scout Leadership Experience
have developed strategies to promote girl leadership
using concepts such as advocacy and skill development that foster resilience at the same time. The
next section discusses the Girl Scout Leadership
Experience and the outcomes that simultaneously
build resilience and leadership.
Resilience and the
Girl Scout Leadership
Experience
Opportunities for leadership development are
incorporated into the Girl Scout Leadership
Experience which engages girls in activities where
they are “discovering themselves and their values,
connecting with others in the local and global
communities, and taking action to make the world
a better place” (James and Archibald 2009, 4). Built
on a definition of leadership that girls appreciate,
understand, and believe in, the Girl Scout Leadership
Experience is driven by three Girl Scout processes:
girl led, learning by doing, and cooperative learning
(Girl Scouts of the USA 2008).
These processes can occur individually or together in
Girl Scout activities. Girl led means that girls of every
age take an active role in figuring out the what, where,
when, why, and how of what they do. Learning by doing
is hands-on learning that engages girls in an ongoing
cycle of action and reflection. Cooperative learning is
designed to promote sharing of knowledge, skills, and
learning in an atmosphere of respect and cooperation
as girls work together on goals that can only be accomplished with the help of others (James and Archibald
2009, 4). Without these processes and supportive
adults, girls are less likely to achieve the intended 15
short-term and intermediate leadership outcomes of
Girl Scouting .
Girl Scout Research Institute
11
The 15 Short-Term and Intermediate Girl Scout Leadership Outcomes (Girl Scouts of the USA 2008)
Leadership Keys
Girl Scout Leadership Outcomes
Discover
Girls develop a strong sense of self.
Girls develop positive values.
Girls gain practical life skills.
Girls seek challenges in the world.
Girls develop critical thinking.
Connect
Girls develop healthy relationships.
Girls promote cooperation and team building.
Girls can resolve conflicts.
Girls advance diversity in a multicultural world.
Girls feel connected to their communities, locally and globally.
Take Action
Girls can identify community needs.
Girls are resourceful problem solvers.
Girls advocate for themselves and others, locally and globally.
Girls educate and inspire others to act.
Girls feel empowered to make a difference in the world.
Bold font indicates outcomes reflective of resilience factors for African American and Hispanic girls and young women
More than half of the 15 intended outcomes of the
Girl Scout Leadership Experience, in concert with the
Girl Scout processes, reflect the individual (positive
self-concept, flexibility/adaptability, critical mindedness), community (communalism/collective agency,
advocacy, religion), and cultural (cultural values, extended families, supportive adults) protective factors
and processes that help develop resilience in African
American and Hispanic girls and young women. (See
table above for the 15 outcomes. Those outcomes
specific to resilience factors for African American
and Hispanic girls and young women are indicated in
bold font.)
12
The Resilience Factor
Further, these outcomes and processes reflect the
programmatic characteristics that researchers and
scholars of youth development have recommended
for the healthy development of youth (Nicholson,
Collins, and Holmer 2004; Grover 2005; Kress 2006;
Pittman 1999; Larson et al. 2004).
It is within safe and supportive environments that
girls initiate and share leadership responsibilities
about the design, planning, implementation, evaluation, and impact of activities on their lives and the
lives of others. Girls in Girl Scouting benefit from
working with able and trusted adult partners and
their peers to develop the skills that will enable them
to become leaders of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place for today
and tomorrow.
Since being a leader is important to 70% of African
American girls and 66% of Hispanic girls (GSUSA
2008), Girl Scouting has a profound opportunity to
positively impact and develop leaders for today and
tomorrow in diverse families and communities
throughout the United States. In addition, this
research points to the need for organizations such
as Girl Scouting to become even more attuned to
the culture and context in which youth live, and
understand how the implementation of program
and advocacy efforts relate to those forces.
Implications
By exploring the questions of leadership aspirations,
experiences, and development of African American and Hispanic girls through the lens of resilience,
a more detailed picture of their individual, familial,
communal, and cultural foundations and support
systems emerges. These foundations and systems
help them to fight against and overcome the enduring,
development-compromising, persistent risks many
of them face. Through this struggle evolves their
self-confidence, their positive development, and their
transformation into the leaders they are and aspire to
be. The following are implications from this research
to consider when conducting research with African
American and Hispanic youth as well as when working
with them directly.
• L
eadership development models built solely
on age or stage in life miss other critical
factors that define who girls are, what they need,
and the richness of what they have to offer. A
leadership development model for girls should
take into consideration all that girls are and give
them opportunities to learn by doing—to have and
use their voice and decision-making skills to influence issues important to them. By doing such,
youth organizations not only further develop
leadership skills in African American and Hispanic
girls, many of whom actively desire to be leaders
and participate in leadership activities already, but
also help engender school, community, and even
cultural protective factors that develop African
American and Hispanic girls’ resilience.
• Y
outh-serving and youth-intervening
organizations and agencies need to involve
young people in planning and decision-making
about their own futures so they can enhance their
competency for self-advocacy and advocacy
for peers. Lessons can be learned from African
American youth who demonstrate that partaking
in such advocacy further encourages youth to
develop and exercise leadership while effecting
concrete changes in their communities (Thomas,
Davidson, and McAdoo 2008).
• T
here are still major gaps in the literature on Hispanic youth, in particular, girls and young
women (Kuperminc et al. 2009). Careful
attention must be paid to research and program
design with Hispanic populations as they are not
a monolingual, monocultural, or monolithic
group. Thus, culturally competent measures
and meaningful models of youth’s development
must be designed (Carlo and de Guzman 2009).
• A
part from the more common similarities of
girls from Hispanic cultures and nationalities,
there are substantive differences in terms of
racialization, citizenship, generation, class backgrounds, family structures, cultural practices,
migration, and resistance strategies (Lopez 2006;
Kuperminc et al. 2009). For African American girls
and other girls of African heritage, there are also
substantive differences in class backgrounds,
family structures, cultural practices, and resistance strategies. These issues must be addressed
in research and program design as well.
Girl Scout Research Institute
13
Where Do We Go
from Here?
Answers to the following questions may help fill in gaps
in research about the resilience of African American
and Hispanic girls as well as offer insights about the
positive and promising aspects of their lives.
• W
hat kinds of leadership experiences do
African American and Hispanic girls describe
as powerful?
• In what contexts do the leadership experiences
of African American and Hispanic girls take place?
• What kinds of issues do African American
and Hispanic girls want to address in their
communities?
• What role models for leadership do African
American and Hispanic girls have in their
communities?
14
The Resilience Factor
•
•
What is the role of ambition as it relates to
leadership among African American and
Hispanic girls?
How can we change the way African American
and Hispanic girls are viewed in the larger culture with respect to self-confidence, resilience,
and leadership?
Youth-serving organizations, schools, communities,
community institutions, and society at large have
great opportunities and potential to develop not only
the resilience of African American and Hispanic girls,
but also to further develop their leadership skills.
Together with families, supportive adults during and
after school, mentors, “other-mothers,” church and
community elders, and other adults, African American
and Hispanic youth can develop the resilience and
leadership required to take ownership of and participate in their own healthy development.
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Resources
American Psychological Association
Advances psychology as a science and profession and as a means
of promoting health, education, and human welfare.
www.apa.org
Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Program (CYFAR)
Promotes building resilience and protective factors in youth, families, and communities.
www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/family/cyfar/cyfar.html
Children, Youth, and Families Education and Research Network
Brings together the best children, youth, and family resources of all
the public land-grant universities in the United States.
www.cyfernet.org/
Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character,
who make the world a better place.
www.girlscouts.org
Raising Resilient Children Foundation
Disseminates information to help adults raise and support resilient
and hopeful children.
www.raisingresilientkids.com/
Resilience Net
Brings together information about the development and expression of human resilience, particularly in children, youth, and
families.
www.resilnet.uiuc.edu/
Search Institute
Provides leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy
children, youth, and communities.
www.search-institute.org
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Works to protect the health of all Americans and provides essential
human services, especially for those who are least able to help
themselves.
www.hhs.gov/
Girl Scout Research Institute
17
$3.00
Girl Scout Research Institute 2011
www.girlscouts.org/research